Ecclesiastes 5
1 When you enter God’s temple, you should be sure to listen carefully. Doing that is better than offering sacrifices to God [and then not obeying him], which is foolish.
Quand tu entreras dans la maison de Dieu, prends garde à ton pied; et approche-toi pour ouïr, plutôt que pour donner [ce que donnent] les fous, [savoir] le sacrifice; car ils ne savent point qu'ils font mal.
2 Think carefully before you speak [MTY] or before you promise God that you will do something [IDM]. [Do not forget that] God is in heaven [and he is all-powerful] and you are here on the earth, so think carefully before you [make any promises to God].
Ne te précipite point à parler, et que ton cœur ne se hâte point de parler devant Dieu; car Dieu est au ciel, et toi sur la terre; c'est pourquoi use de peu de paroles.
3 If you are continually thinking [and worrying] about things, you will have bad dreams about them and not rest [well]. And the more you talk, the more likely it will be that you will say things that are foolish.
Car [comme] le songe vient de la multitude des occupations; ainsi la voix des fous sort de la multitude des paroles.
4 When you solemnly promise God that you will do something, do not be foolish by delaying in doing it, because God is not pleased with foolish people. Do [all] the things that you promise God that you will do.
Quand tu auras voué quelque vœu à Dieu, ne diffère point de l'accomplir; car il ne prend point de plaisir aux fous; accomplis donc ce que tu auras voué.
5 It is better to not promise [anything] than to promise to do something, and [then] not doing it.
Il vaut mieux que tu ne fasses point de vœux, que d'en faire, et ne les accomplir point.
6 Do not sin by promising to do something and then not doing it. And [when you promise God to do something and do not do it], do not say to God’s priest that it was a mistake for you to promise to do that. If you do that, God will certainly [RHQ] become very angry with you, and he will take from you everything that you [SYN] have worked to acquire.
Ne permets point que ta bouche te fasse pécher, et ne dis point devant le messager [de Dieu], que c'est ignorance. Pourquoi se courroucerait l'Eternel à cause de ta parole, et détruirait-il l'œuvre de tes mains?
7 Promising to do something and not doing it is like [SIM] a dream that has no value; instead, revere God [by doing what you promised him that you would do].
Car [comme] dans la multitude des songes il y a des vanités, aussi y en a-t-il beaucoup dans la multitude des paroles; mais crains Dieu.
8 Do not be surprised if you see poor [people] being (oppressed/treated cruelly) [by powerful/influential people], or if you see judges making unjust decisions throughout the land. [That happens] because the people who do that are supervised [and cheated by] more important officials [DOU],
Si tu vois dans la Province qu'on fasse tort au pauvre, et que le droit et la justice [y] soient violés, ne t'étonne point de cela; car un plus haut élevé que ce haut élevé y prend garde, et il y en a de plus haut élevés qu'eux.
9 and even the king forces the people to give him some of the crops that they harvest.
La terre a de l'avantage par-dessus toutes choses; le Roi est asservi au champ.
10 Everyone who tries to [get as much] money as they can will never think that they have enough. They will never be satisfied with the money that they have. That also is senseless.
Celui qui aime l'argent, n'est point assouvi par l'argent; et celui qui aime un grand train, n'en est pas nourri; cela aussi est une vanité.
11 The more money that we have, the more people want us to spend our money to buy things for them. So people who have a lot of money do not [RHQ] benefit from it; they see [MTY] it when they get it, but it soon (disappears/is completely spent).
Où il y a beaucoup de bien, là il y a beaucoup de gens qui le mangent; et quel avantage en revient-il à son maître, sinon qu'il le voit de ses yeux?
12 Those who work hard sleep peacefully [at night], even if they do not have much food to eat. But rich [people] do not sleep well, because [they worry] about their money.
Le dormir de celui qui laboure est doux, soit qu'il mange peu, ou beaucoup; mais le rassasiement du riche ne le laisse point dormir.
13 I have seen [another] terrible thing that happens here on the earth [MTY]: People save [up all] their money and become rich, [but] they are not helped by saving a lot of money,
Il y a un mal fâcheux que j'ai vu sous le soleil, c'est que des richesses sont conservées à leurs maîtres afin qu'ils en aient du mal.
14 [because] something happens that causes their money to be gone, and when they die, there is no money for their children to get/inherit.
Et ces richesses-là périssent par quelque fâcheux accident, de sorte qu'on aura engendré un enfant, et il n'aura rien entre ses mains.
15 When we are born, we do not bring anything with us, and when we die, we take nothing with us from all that we have earned by our working hard.
Et comme il est sorti [nu] du ventre de sa mère, il s'en retournera nu, s'en allant comme il est venu, et il n'emportera rien de son travail auquel il a employé ses mains.
16 That also seems senseless. People bring nothing [into the world when they are born], and they leave [this world] taking nothing with them. They have worked hard, but they receive no lasting benefit [MET].
Et c'[est] aussi un mal fâcheux, que comme il est venu, il s'en va de même; et quel avantage a-t-il d'avoir travaillé après du vent?
17 [Furthermore, rich people] are always miserable [MET] and sad, and depressed/discouraged and often sick and (resentful/thinking that what has happened to them is unfair).
Il mange aussi tous les jours de sa vie en ténèbres, et se chagrine beaucoup, et son mal va jusqu'à la fureur.
18 So, the best thing for people to do here on the earth during the few years that God allows them to be alive is to eat and drink and to enjoy their work, because those are the things that God has given to them.
Voilà [donc] ce que j'ai vu, que c'est une chose bonne et agréable [à l'homme], de manger et de boire, et de jouir du bien de tout son travail qu'il aura fait sous le soleil, durant les jours de sa vie, lesquels Dieu lui a donnés; car c'est là sa portion.
19 If people are rich and have a lot of possessions, and are able to (enjoy/be happy with) the things that they have and to enjoy their work, those things are [also] gifts from God.
Aussi ce que Dieu donne de richesses et de biens à un homme, quel qu'il soit, [et] dont il le fait maître, pour en manger, et pour en prendre sa part, et pour se réjouir de son travail, c'est là un don de Dieu.
20 Those people do not worry much about [everything that has happened] during the time that they have been alive, because God enables them to be happy doing everything that they do.
Car il ne se souviendra pas beaucoup des jours de sa vie, parce que Dieu lui répond par la joie de son cœur.
